History of Liquor: Distilled Spirits Timelines from Early Beginnings to Today

The history of liquor is a fascinating one. Its origins are unclear. But most historians believe people first distilled alcohol around the 13th century AD. Speculations about possible earlier development are just that… speculations.

Liquor

There is considerable variation in the meaning of the term ‘liquor.’ And its meaning has changed over time. People now generally use it in referring to distilled spirits. These include whiskey, rum, vodka, gin, tequila and other beverages containing alcohol resulting from distillation.

Past

Early History of Liquor
The history of liquor is shrouded in mystery. Considerable disagreement exists over who first developed distillation as well when and where this occurred.

Liquor in the 15th Century
Knowledge of how to distill alcohol began to spread among monks, physicians, and alchemists.

Liquor in the 16th Century
Throughout most of the 16th century, drinking distilled spirits was still largely for medicinal purposes. But its popularity as a beverage grew.

Liquor in the 17th Century
The triangle trade developed as the popularity of rum rose. Elsewhere, “Old Bushmills Distillery” in Ireland became the first licensed whisky distillery in the world. It still produces whisky today.

Liquor in the 18th Century
The English Parliament aggressively promoted the production of gin. Distilling it used surplus grain and raised tax revenue.

Liquor in the 19th Century
Prohibition movements emerged in a number of countries. As the movements grew in power they increasingly led to temperance restrictions.

Liquor in the 20th Century & Beyond
A major event impacting liquor in a number of countries was prohibition. Prohibitions failed and caused serious problems.